


Kings of Midgard (Frostiron Bang 2016)

by Postapokalypso



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Loki Feels, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 12:25:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8578471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Postapokalypso/pseuds/Postapokalypso
Summary: It was this one time, Tony decided to take a time-out and visit a festival, that Loki showed up as the frontsinger of a metal band.





	

Look at RenneMichaels cover art here: http://lokid-by-postapokalypso.tumblr.com/image/153312140734

 

Tony stared. Disbelieving.  
There were few things someone like Tony Stark believed impossible in this world and this would have been one of them. That was if he had ever thought of coming up with something that absurd.  
Pepper had lately criticised that he spent too much time in his workshop. More than ever. And he himself had felt, that it was draining him of his energy. He had been working on his anti-magic gear since Loki had led an alien army to earth and he was about to develop the ultimate weapon for neutralising magic. But since he didn't know much about Lokis abilities it was a hard task and he was about sure it would fail. But it gave him something to do, something to occupy his mind with.  
However, Pepper was right. He needed to get out.  
And it was a good time for a break since it was time for the year's best metal festival. Wacken. And he had not been there for a while.  
He had rented a little apartment very close to the stages. Not that he would have minded paddling through the mud with a blow-up boat or something, but he was still famous and that meant, if he wanted to have a little bit of fun and peace, he couldn't just sleep in a tent between strangers.  
It was sunny and dry this year and he was in a good mood when he went to the big stage, a beer in his hand, to see the third band so far. He hadn't met anyone he knew yet, but he hoped to find Steven, a guy he'd been spending much time with, the last time he'd been here. But for now, he was happy. He had a beer, he had thousands of crazy people around him, loud heavy music, the evening sun was shining. It was beyond perfect and he was finally able to relax a bit.  
He pulled the stage program out of his pocket and studied it for a moment, taking a sip of his beer. It was called “Mjölnir” and he had it out of the Wacken Brewery that made the so-called “Beer of the Gods.” In honour of Thor he had chosen this one, even though he was more into Craft Beer. But that one had been called “Crafty Loki” and drinking something with such a name was too much. Even for Tony.  
The next band that was up on the big stage was called “Kings of Midgard.” Well, the Norse Mythology seemed to have gotten a popular topic these days. It wouldn't leave him alone. He wondered if that had anything to do with Lokis attack on New York. Since the existence of the Norse Gods was now confirmed, people seemed to be even more crazy about it.  
He didn't know the band yet but they´d be playing on the biggest stage, so they had to be at least worth a look. Even though the name reminded him of some incidents he´d rather forget . Because they were still in his head and even worse, following him into his dreams. Tony wasn't sleeping well these days and he was sure it was all Lokis fault. Him and his fucking daddy complex that had made him into THE role model of a moody teenager with various issues.  
He was one of the first people to arrive at the stage. That way he was able to get a good place in the front. The Band seemed to be unknown to many people because they weren´t storming in like usual when the gates were opened.  
The concert began with drum and guitar solos and the singer was nowhere to be seen. Tony stood on his tiptoes and craned his neck when the audience began applauding, someone ran onto the stage, waving his hands and grabbing the microphone. Tony was too far away to recognise the singer on the stage, but right and left to it were giant screens that showed him close-up.  
It was funny. Because Tony thought he looked really alike a certain someone and he hadn't thought that anyone, be it on earth or in the entire galaxy could have a face like this fucker. They looked so similar.  
Tony felt a weird feeling creep into his stomach like something wanted to get out of there and crawl into his brain. But he wouldn't let it. He couldn't. This was stupid.  
But when the guy began singing, his voice sounding so rough and smooth at the same time, his words ringing with this British accent, a cold feeling seeped into his feet and wandered up his body.  
And there, we are back to Tony staring in Disbelief. Because there, on the stage, on earth, on a german Metal festival, singing for this band with this ironically so fitting name, was without any doubt, Loki.  
And he was a great representative of this band name because he was the king of this stage, he rocked it. Tony would have been impressed, but the brain areas that would have been responsible that had shut off. He felt like his whole brain was about to go blank in a second. He could see how much Loki was drowning himself in the audience's attention, how he was enjoying himself. Tony could see that. He could see all of that. But at the same time, his body had started trembling, panic was seeping into his bones,his legs, that began feeling like they might betray him anytime soon. His blood felt cold.  
What kind of game was this? Loki was supposed to be safe and tucked up in a cosy alien prison cell back in Asgard. He was supposed to pay for everything he had loaded upon them back there in New York. For throwing him out of a window. For killing Coulson. For leading a bloody alien-army into the city.  
Someone wanted to mess with him here and that someone had a death wish. Or Loki had, Tony wasn't sure at all what was going on right now. He knew just one thing, this couldn't be real and if it was, he needed to get out of here , he had to take a deep breath, had to take a breath at all and get into his suit. He craved to be inside his armour right now, as he was really on the verge of getting a panic attack.  
He shoved his way through the crowd. From there he ran back to his apartment without looking back. Maybe he could tell himself that it had all been his imagination, the heat, the alcohol, the stress, something.  
Anything, that helped him believe that this had not been Loki, on a stage, performing a pagan metal song.  
He sank down onto his bed, holding his head, breathing like he had just returned from five hours of running. Then he stood up and poured himself a whisky. An expensive one. Beer wouldn't do right now, it was too weak, and as he planned to drink much, very much right now he was in need of the good stuff.  
He was already drunk when his phone rang. It was Steven whose name was shown as “Beerpal” on the screen. That had been what he called him the first time in Wacken because he had always forgotten his name.  
He picked up the phone a pressed the answer button. “Steven, hey.”  
“I didn't even know you were here!” the person on the other line blurted. “I just saw you in the crowd, I can't believe you are here!”  
“Yeah, it's fancy.” Tony slurred. “Sorry I didn't give you a call, I haven't been here long yet.”  
“Oh, no, no worries. You sound put-off, is everything alright?”  
“What? Oh, yeah I'm fine. Just drunk.”  
“Well, that's what you are supposed to be I guess. This is Wacken after all! Say, I wanted to ask you if you are in the mood for a party.”  
“A Party?”  
“Well, it's an after-show party I've been invited to, but I barely know anyone. Come with me?”  
“I don't know ...Steven, i…”  
“Oh please, come on Tony, we haven't met in ages!”  
Tony was confused, drunk, not able to think. Maybe a little bit of Sex could solve this tangled mess his brain had transformed into. And if it wouldn't, it would at least relax him. And when he , it would show itself to be just a big misunderstanding.  
“Okay, I'll be there.”  
“Ah, that's awesome! I´ll send you a message with the location."  
And with that, Steven hung up, leaving Tony alone with this strange situation. He was getting more and more sure, that his brain had played a prank on him, but just to be safe he called Jarvis and ordered him to get his newest inventions transported to him as fast as possible.  
When he arrived at the Party, Steven was already waiting for him, waving like a madman from the bar. He had two beers in his hands and Tony knew one of them was for him. Even inside the after-party room, everything was covered in dirt because the people coming from the concerts carried everything in.  
He approached Steven with a forced grin. “Nice to see you again, Beerpal.”  
“Ohhh, I missed that nickname! Tony, you don't look older at all, is all this world-saving doing its job for your body too?”  
“It seems like it.” he laughed a bit. “However, I can't say the same about you.”  
“Yea.” Steven waved it off with a roll of his eyes. “Don't tell me, I know. I have gained some pounds. But let's stop this now, I don't want to start sounding like a woman in her mid-life crisis.”  
“But those women crave to get laid, I tell you,” Tony said and grabbed the beer from Steves Hands. “Whose after-party is this now?”  
“Oh, it's this new band, barely anyone knows them. Kings of Midgard if I'm not mistaken.”  
Tony nearly choked on his beer and quickly placed it on the counter. “You should have told me that!”  
“Why?”  
He realised that this was something, that was bound to sound stupid to Steven, so he shook his head . “No, never mind.”  
He now had the chance to confirm to himself that all this had been nothing. Sheer imagination. That this had not been Loki. And it hadn't been. Impossible.  
“Do you know the singer?” he asked Steven, who was staring at him like he´d gone mad.  
“Yeah, he was here a moment ago.” Steven looked around , then shrugged. “Can´t see him now,” He turned to scan the crowd and Tony also searched for a familiar face. No, no he didn't. He searched for a face that was familiar to a familiar face. Nothing more.  
“Are you looking for me by any chance?”  
Tony was shocked by the low voice that was suddenly really close and whispering into his ear. He froze to the spot when Steven beamed. “There! He´s right behind you!”  
Tony whirled around and looked right into Lokis eyes. There was no doubt about it, these were Lokis eyes, that was Lokis face. This was fucking Loki standing in front of him, grinning like the devil he was. There was no chance, he could put this aside as some crazy imagination.  
“You were really great!” Steven went on. “I never saw you before, I wonder why you didn't get famous sooner!”  
“Oh, that's too much of a compliment, but thank you anyways,” Loki replied with a smile so angelic, that Tony thought about throwing up into his face. That aside, he really felt like he was about to puke.  
“Wow.” he breathed. “I didn't expect to see the King of Midgard today.”  
“Life tends to be surprising, doesn't it?” Loki said.  
Tony thought about calling Jane. Would Loki have a chance of escaping before his brother was here? How had he even gotten out of this cell in Asgard? It was Loki. Wouldn't he just kill everyone here, Tony included, if he tried to pull a move on him?  
He just stared at Loki. “I really need a strong drink now.”  
“Oh, so do I,” Loki said, still smiling his stupid innocent smile. “Would you mind me accompanying you?”  
Loki really was an asshole.  
“Actually I'd rather go alone with my pal Steven.”  
“Tony! Don't be so rude!” Steven contradicted. “Of course you can join us for a drink.”  
“Oh, this is too kind.” grinned Loki and followed Tony to the Bar. Tony was again trembling, half in anger, half in panic. What was Loki up to?  
They all got a whisky, they all settled onto a bench and it was the most awkward situation Tony had ever witnessed, including the one when he had peed into his Ironman-Suit once.  
“It really is a great honour meeting the great Tony Stark here,” Loki said and took a sip of his whisky, his green eyes never leaving Tony. “Or should I say, the even more spectacular Ironman?”  
“Oh please, stop flattering me.” Tony waved it off. “I am here to have fun, and so are you, am I right?”  
“Oh yes, I plan to have a high time.”  
“Okay, don't be mad Steven, but I don't feel good, I need to go.” Tony shoved his drink down and stood up.  
“That is too bad,” Loki commented and Tony felt even worse seeing him smirk in his typical dirty way. “I´ll have a good talk with your friend, though.”  
“Don't you dare…” Tony paused. “Don't you dare steal him from me.”  
“That was never my intention.”  
“Do I have a say in this?” Steven interrupted. “Tony you've been weird all day.”  
“Yah, it's not my best day, to be honest.”  
“Such a shame.”  
Oh, shut up Loki.  
“Well, see you. What is your name anyway?” he shot a grim look at Loki.  
“Oh, it's Tom.” Loki grinned and held his hand out to Tony.  
“My pleasure,” Tony replied, then withdrew from the table to leave Loki behind him. He couldn't look suspicious now. He needed a plan.  
The plan was in his head before he even reached his room. Calling S.H.I.E.L.D was out of question. He was sure Loki would be gone before they arrived. And Tony still didn't like leaving things to others, especially to people like Fury. No, he would capture Loki himself. And he had a risky plan. But risky plans were often those who turned out to be working.  
He shoved the anti-magic knife into his back pocket and the gun in the pocket of his jacket. Then he snuck his way out of his room and walked his way over to where Lokis room was said to be located. He had already hacked himself into the security software that protected his door and really, it had not been that hard. He expected the God to have set up some traps, but he couldn't find anything. It was too easy, getting into his room. Walking up to him. Standing in front of his bed. Tony watched him in his sleep. He seemed to be troubled by something in his slumber and for a moment he was dumbstruck by the possibility of Loki having nightmares. What would he even dream about?

No, this was no moment for procrastination. He pulled out the knife and stabbed it into Lokis chest, without restraining himself. It felt...weird. Like he'd just prodded the knife into a fresh cake and not into a living creature's skin. And it did not start bleeding. It just went in and…  
“What are you trying to do here Stark?”  
“Oh, for God's Sake!” Tony spun around and was again face to face with Loki.  
“Were you just attempting to kill me there?” he asked and raised and eyebrow, the grin never leaving his face. Overconfident bastard.  
“Of course not!” Tony withspoke. Even he couldn´t kill a god. But the knife was supposed to glue Loki to the spot he was in, at least for half an hour. It was designed to make the magic inside his body freeze.  
“Of course.” Loki agreed , balancing his weight on his right foot. “Then, what else might I expect from you, paying me a visit in the middle of the night? You, the famous player Tony Stark? Really flattering. Although I think you are overestimating your charm here.”  
“Oh God, no!”  
“I am not going to make you scream such a ludicrous thing.”  
Tony let out a deep breath. “You are putting all the wrong things into my mouth.”  
“You keep saying those awkward things. I am not ever putting anything into your mouth.”  
“You drive me crazy.”  
“No, I won't.”  
“Are you not gonna murder me or something? I´ve discovered your breakout after all.” Tony pointed out, clutching his Ironman-case tighter with his hand.  
Loki just laughed. It was really a deep and dirty kind of laughter. That made Tony gulp. After all this seductive talk Loki accused him guilty of.  
“I see no reason as to why I should try killing you, Stark.”  
“You don't.”  
“No.”  
“Well, I do see one to kill you,” Tony said, pulled the gun out of his jacket and fired. Loki still tried to dematerialize himself but failed, as Tony's gun had hit him straight in his chest. He was unable to move, as blood began pouring out of the wound. Loki stared at him in incredulity, he made a strange sound, then toppled over and fell to the floor.  
“Who is laughing now?” he asked and grinned into Lokis unmoving face. He stepped over him and looked down.  
“You…” Loki croaked. “You ...disabled my magic?”  
“Indeed I did.” Tony couldn't suppress a sneer.  
“Stop...grinning. You fool.” Loki whimpered. “You destroyed my barriers.”  
“I actually wonder about the fact that you can talk again.” Tony raised his eyebrows and pulled out his phone. “Well, I'll call Jane before you can think of moving away again. Your dearest brother will come pick you up.”  
Loki let out a strangled laugh and pulled himself up. “You are foolish and your invention is weak.”  
Tony made a few surprised steps back and pointed the gun to Lokis chest again.  
“I´d rather you not do that again,” Loki advised. “We might be in need of my magic any moment.”  
“What are you talking about?”  
This was becoming strange. Loki didn't look relaxed, he had become tense and nervous. And in the next moment, Tony found out why. Because just in the blink of an eye, two gross alien creature's had popped up in the room and Loki shot forward grabbing Tony's arm. “Now thank you for letting them know about my location,” he growled, Tony's stomach turned and they were warped away. He was teleporting. Well, Loki was teleporting. He had just pulled him along. But Tony had no time to be upset about that as he was trying his hardest not to throw up.  
They landed in Tony's beach apartment in Malibu and he really wondered how Loki knew that he lived there too. He left Tony standing there and rushed through the room, mumbling strange words that sounded like incantations.  
“What the hell are you doing? What the fuck happened just now?” Tony urged, but didn't dare walking towards Loki who seemed infuriated right now.  
“You ask me?” he fumed. “You destroyed the barriers that kept me hidden. Now they know I'm on earth. You endangered your planet with this.”  
“Oh, last time I checked it was you who endangered my planet.”  
Loki spared him no answer and kept on walking through the room doing his Harry Potter mumbo jumbo.  
“What are you doing?” Tony repeated.  
“I´m drawing a barrier around your house. Or do you want them coming after you next?”  
“No, but I can't believe you are helping me out after I shot you down.”  
Loki shrugged. “That is the last time. With this, we´re even.”  
“What? No, we´re not even. This is not even close to a fitting redemption for an attempt to take over the world. Throwing me out of a window put aside too.”  
“I am not going to do you another favour,” Loki stated. Tony blinked. And he was gone.  
He blinked again.  
Just then he had been on a Metal-Festival, surrounded by people. Now he was standing in Malibu. Alone. And if he had not been mistaken, it had been Loki, who had just saved him.  
Loki, whom he still couldn't believe to have seen right before him. Or on that stage.  
Should he still call Jane? Even if Loki had just him a favour, only the nonexistent god knew why he didn't owe him. Thor needed to know.  
He pulled his phone out and searched for Jane in his contacts. He called. And was not surprised when instead of her, he heard Natasha's voice. “Hey, Tony.”  
“Now, you got something to explain.” he said and tried to sound amused.  
“No, you do,” Natasha replied, her voice remaining ruthless.  
“Oh, what would that be? I have no clue.”  
“You know that I'm about to ask you why you wanted to contact Thor.”  
“Because I needed a buddy that is able to hold one's drink?”  
“Don't joke with me, Tony. You had an encounter with Loki.”  
Tony stared at his television. “You knew that he is on the run!?”  
“Tony. S.H.I.E.L.D knows everything. And you need to come over, we are in need of your input.”  
It appeared that Thor had been on Earth all along. Loki had vanished from his prison cell two months ago, although there were a few strange details about his breakout. Because there had been trails of Lokis blood on the floor that Thor had no explanation for.  
After Tonys reveal of information, Loki had to quit his new career with his metal band. Tony didn't know why he had started it anyway.  
It emerged that the band members were much likely to just have been illusions and the band had practically appeared out of nowhere. Maybe Loki had created it to do a little trick on Tony.  
He was told to call one of SHIELDS agents, should he see Loki once more and Tony agreed grudgingly. He would have been happier if SHIELD hadn't been involved in this matter. They were always bad at accepting the choices Tony wanted to make.  
The last two weeks he had kept himself busy by analysing the magic barrier Loki had left behind. He wanted to be able to create such power-fields with his technology for the case of him being captured again. But there were some powers there that he couldn't identify. Not to speak of creating them himself.  
Tony took a sip of his coffee and buried his head in his hands. Well, at least he could be certain that Loki was not in SHIELDS fangs yet. The barriers were still up and active.  
“Sir, I advise you to get some sleep, the last time you had some is over 25 hours 14 minutes and 24 seconds ago.”  
“I can't sleep, Jarvis.”  
“I also adivse you to drink less coffee.”  
“Could you stop giving me advice? It's not helpful.”  
Suddenly analytic machines went crazy and a sound blared out of the speakers that hurt Tony's ears. “What the hell, Jarvis, turn this off!”  
“This is not me sir. The magic barriers have been violated.”  
“What?”  
“There is someone in your living room.”  
“Give me a live broadcast.”  
“Certainly Sir.”  
The screen lit up and showed Tony's living room. It looked normal. Like always. Except for Steve standing in there. It was strange and it didn't explain why the analytics had reacted like they´d gone crazy. Still, he stood up, took his coffee cup and hurried up the stairs. But when he arrived upstairs he didn't see Steve anywhere. “Hello? Anyone there? Jarvis?”  
“Sir, something is off, but I can't recognise anything.”  
“What?”  
He rounded the corner and froze. There were several of the strange aliens standing there that somehow resembled the chitauri from the attack on New York a few years ago. But one of them seemed intelligent, the way he was standing there looking at Tony with this faint grin on his face. Oh, those damn illusions.  
“Jarvis, my Suit!” he screamed. The parts began flying towards him, attaching themselves to his arm. He fired at one of the aliens with his repulsor before it could reach him, but the intelligent one just laughed. “Oh try to get away little human, even with that armour of yours, you won't make it.”  
“We will see about that,” Tony replied and pointed his repulsor at the guy. “What do you want from me? I don't have anything you need.”  
“But with you…” the alien continued. “...we will achieve what we want. We will get him.”  
He pulled out a staff from his mantle and pointed it in Tony's direction. He was shocked to feel the material of his suit peel off his body. He stared down at himself, in shock.  
“Do you know..” the alien began again. “...where this material your suit is made of, came from? It was our planet. And you know, we can manage to have a certain amount of control over it. And this...is beneficial right now.”  
Tony could see that, looking at his destroyed suit scattered around his feet. He really needed to work on the material used in his suit. Something like this should not happen.  
This. Was. Very. Bad.  
“So, where is Loki Laufeyson?”  
Really? That was why those freaks were here? Because of Loki? As if he knew anything about his location. That was rich.  
“Sorry, he's not exactly my best friend,” Tony answered. “I don't know a shit about that.”  
“Do not dare lie to me.”  
“I am not...for gods sake, this guy is my enemy.”  
The man grinned and Tony found himself questioning if he had been right about his intelligence.  
“Well, it doesn't really matter to us if you don't know something or if you just don't want to tell us. You are useless to us, so you may as well be dead.”  
A cold feeling crept up Tony's body and he jumped to the side when the alien fired a destructive beam in his direction. The wall above his head cracked and crumbled and he was buried under a massive amount of rubble. Something hit his head and he nearly passed out, coughing because of the dust. He realised the faint feeling of blood streaming down at the side of his head. Blinking he tried to see something, he had to get away.  
Why was all this happening?  
Through his narrow field of vision, he could see the alien approaching him, now holding a knife in his ugly hands.  
He tried moving but his leg was stuck under a big stone. Damn it.  
Just when he expected the impact, nothing happened. He opened his eyes when he felt something trickle onto his face.  
Loki was standing above him, demolished, he had deep wounds in his body, was breathing ragged and short. The alien had been struck down next to him and it seemed to have cost him all of his remaining energy. Because he staggered two steps forward, then tumbled over and fell into the dirt, face first.  
“Jarvis! Get me out of here!” Tony said. He turned his head to take a look at Loki. He looked like a total mess. “Hey, are you dead? Loki? Wake up, dammit!”  
Dummy came wiggling towards him and lifted the stone off his leg. “Oww, thanks, Dummy.” Tony groaned and pulled himself up. He leant against the wall, taking in several breaths. What had he gotten himself into here? No, what had Loki gotten him into?  
Loki.  
Loki had rescued him again and this time he had put his life on the line. Why?  
He crouched down beneath Loki and rolled him over. “Hey, are you in there?”  
The answer was a cough, another ragged breath, blood running over Lokis pale lips. Blinking. He opened his eyes and looked at Tony without being able to focus anything. “Do...not put too much into this.”  
“I thought you implied that we are even.”  
“W..well, you said we weren't.”  
“I didn't think you emphasised my opinion.”  
“I am courteous.”  
Loki coughed again and blood spilled out of his mouth. He tried to sit up, but Tony stopped him. “You´ll make it worse.”  
“How considerate.”  
“You saved me twice, I have to give this some appreciation.”  
He shoved his arm under Lokis shoulder and helped him stand up. He then guided him towards the sofa and sat him down. “I suppose when it comes to healing you´re like a jelly.”  
“I will not take long.”  
Tony noticed a restless vibe around Loki. He seemed not to like waiting until he was healed. He was in a rush. And nervous.  
He took a wipe and soaked it with sanitizer. Then he sat down next to Loki, grabbed his face and began wiping it. Loki made a whimpering noise that sounded like a cute “Ow.”  
Tony froze in his motion and stared at his face. Loki wrinkled his forehead and bit his lip.  
“Yeah, you're a tough guy, hm?” Tony said but went on wiping. Loki drew in a breath. “What are you doing?”  
“Cleaning your pretty face,” Tony mumbled.  
A strangled chuckle escaped Loki. “I am not your damsel in distress.”  
“No. I feel more like I was yours.”  
A peculiar feeling rose in Tony's stomach, as he continued looking at Lokis face. He seemed tired. And the first time since New York, Tony asked himself if there was more to this guy than the crazy psychopath.  
Loki turned his head and locked eyes with Tony. He went still, his heart skipped a beat, he didn't even know why. He gulped. “What are you…”  
“I bet you are supposed to tell your nice secret organisation about my whereabouts.”  
“I didn't..” Tony replied. “I´m not best buddies with Fury.”  
“I know that. And I know you didn't …” Loki leant forward. “You deserve my gratitude…”  
He came so close, their lips nearly touched and Tony wondered if kissing was an acceptable act of gratefulness up there in space city.  
That was when the door flew open, Shield agents ran in, someone shooting. Loki backing off, staring at Tony with horror in his eyes.  
Before he could teleport away someone hit him with a bullet that injected a liquid into his body. And Tony knew what it was. It was the same stuff that he had used to modify his anti-magic weapons with.  
“No!” Loki screamed. And Tony was shocked to hear him sound so desperate. “You can not imprison me! I need to get back! You cant..”  
And then he went still and motionless. Fury entered the room. “Didn't we have a deal about calling, Tony?”  
“Sorry, I needed a moment to calm down!” Tony replied. He shot Loki a look. He had sunken down onto the couch. Toy somehow regretted ever inventing this anti-magic liquid. It didn't take effect for long with Loki but if the agents kept injecting the liquid into him in constant intervals he would stay out of service.  
He looked pathetic. Some agents grabbed him and pulled him up.  
Fury turned towards Tony with a serious expression. “We need you to fixate him, Tony. We don't have the suitable equipment.”  
Tony was unable to answer for a moment. He glanced at Loki who was staring at the floor with a grim and somewhat exasperated expression.  
“I am sure you invented something to contain this guy.” Fury continued. “Otherwise we would see ourselves forced to hurt him, for keeping him down.”  
Tony avoided looking at Loki. “Yeah, I have something. But what do you plan on doing with him?”  
“We merely plan to keep him until Thor is here to fetch him.”  
“Why is he not here yet?”  
“We did not tell him of Loki turning up yet.”  
“Wait…” Tony held up a hand. “That's not the only thing you want right?”  
“Of course we might use this opportunity to get some information out of him.”  
“That is betrayal of Asgard!” Loki pressed out. “I am not going to screw out anything.”  
“We never know when they might turn against us.” Fury said. “And don't worry.” he directed at Loki. “We will get something out of you. You´ll see.”  
They afterwards strapped Loki down. He was connected to an infusion that constantly provided his body with a sufficient amount of the liquid. Tony didn't know what they did to him down there, they had locked him out of his workshop. And even though it was about Loki, a crazy murdering psychopath that had thrown him out of a window, he couldn't help himself. He had a bad feeling. Loki had only been captured because he had come to save him. And he still had to think of the moment when they had shot him and he´d screamed. And he had sounded so desperate.  
Several hours passed until Tony saw anyone come upstairs. It was Fury and he looked unnerved and exhausted. “He wants to talk to you.”  
“What?”  
“We got him ready to talk, but he won't unless it's you.”  
“Don't you think this could be a trap?”  
Fury raised an eyebrow. “He is fixated. And strapped down.”  
“He is a god.”  
“If that gives him the power to escape, he will anyway, if we let him talk to you or not.”  
Tony shrugged. “Okay, okay, I'll do it.”  
He went down the stairs and pushed the door to his workshop open. He had to take a step back when he saw Loki. He looked lifeless. When Loki heard the door, he raised his head. “Stark…”  
He moved towards him. When had the way he saw him changed that much? Or was that only because of the expression in Lokis eyes?  
“You have to get me out of here..” And his voice. It sounded like he was on the verge of crying. “I have to ...get back.”  
“What makes you think I'm going to let a psycho like you out of a cage?” Tony asked and leant against the wall.  
“No..no..” Loki whimpered. “I saved you twice, you don't understand!”  
“What?”  
“I need to go to Asgard! Please..” he begged. Tony's stomach clenched. “Why?”  
“They were not only after you. They are attacking the city...my mother...she's in danger.”  
“Your mother?” Tony asked.  
“Thanos is targeting her next, you have to let me go, I beg of you...she is...important.”  
Loki looked him straight into the eye, his own eyes swimming in tears. Tony felt put back in time. It had been the same for him, all the time. His mother had seemed to be the only good thing in his life. He blinked.  
“Anthony.., I know this is pathetic and seeing me like this is crazy for you, but I need your help now.”  
Tony hesitated. “Thor mentioned you are sneaky.”  
Loki threw his head back in desperation and cried out. It pulled at Tony's heartstrings.  
“This is not about Thor..he going to kill her…” He turned his face away and Tony took a step towards him. “Don't…” Loki whispered, his voice was shaking.  
Gods, was he crying?  
“Just..go.” Loki urged out. “Leave me.”  
He was supposed to get information for SHIELD and to let Loki out, but shit, he´d never liked SHIELDS agents.  
“Jarvis, I need a drink.”  
“Certainly Sir.”  
It was a code for a fake video footage being streamed on the surveillance cameras for 90 seconds and that time frame was enough for Tony to put in the security code which stopped the energy flowing through the chains. He sat up and looked at Tony in disbelief.There were still tears running down his cheek.  
“No, get away,” Tony said. “They mustn't see you look at me like that.”  
“You have my gratitude.”  
“I am SO happy,” Tony said, then watched Loki disappear in a flash of green light. To SHIELDS agents it must have looked like he had beamed away.  
Fury came rushing down into the workshop. He flung the door open and inspected the place Loki had been strapped down to. “What the hell happened Stark?!”  
“I told you,” Tony exclaimed . “He just needed me down here so I could deactivate his chains.” Strictly taken this wasn't even a lie. Fury still looked at him . “Are you sure that is all that is to that?”  
“For God's sake, why should I let Loki loose?! I am not mad!”  
Actually Tony wasn´t sure about that. He had set Loki free after all. He had helped Loki escape. The more times he repeated it in his head, the more he felt like a maniac.  
That evening, just when he was about to relax from all this weird stress with a glass of Whisky in his hand, the elevator doors opened and Thor stormed in.  
“Jarvis, what did I say about the warning?”  
“He is your friend, Sir.”  
“I could be having Sex in here,” Tony said, then stood up to greet Thor. “Hey, shouldn't you be fighting for your space planet up there?”  
“What are you talking about?”  
What had Loki been talking about?  
“I thought Asgard was being attacked?”  
“No, I have brought back the peace to the nine realms some time ago. There are no attacks Anthony. And I am actually here to ask you about my brother. Have you seen him?”

Oh, Loki really was a little shit. That had been a great show, he should have taken on a career as an actor, not as front singer. He had shown him a scene of desperation and crying, Hollywood couldn't have done it better.  
And he was so stupid, he had taken him seriously.  
“He was here,” he admitted to Thor. “But I'm afraid he tricked me into letting him go.”  
Thor exhaled and he seemed much more at ease now. “So, he is well then?”  
“Not sure about that, I think he mentioned someone named Thanos is pursuing him.”  
“I was afraid it would be that. He also seems to have kidnapped him from his cell to kill him.”  
“What business does he have with that alien guy?”  
“He did not tell me , Man of Iron. It must have happened after he fell into the void.”  
“The void?”  
“When he found out about...his origins, he was so mad, he tried to kill that entire race. Father and I stopped him in the end, but Loki was so desperate, he let go and fell off the byfrost into the abyss. I never found out what happened to him in that time.”  
“He tried ...to kill an entire race.”  
“It was a race hated and feared by Asgard all along. Even I, as I didn't know about it, spoke of Frost Giants as dumb and brute creatures that need to be exterminated. That was before I got to Earth, however. I was a fool back then, so was Loki.”  
“And now he isn't?” Tony smirked and cocked his head.  
“He is walking on the wrong path.”  
“But he saved my life once.”  
Thor shot him a surprised look. “He did?”  
Tony nodded.  
And it made him somehow happy, seeing Thor smile to himself at that, like all the hope he had put into his brother, had not been in vain.  
Tony gave up on his anti-magic inventions after that. He didn't want SHIELD to use them against his will again. And if there was no such thing existing, they couldn't.  
Other than that he focused on building barriers like the one Loki had drawn around his house a few weeks ago. However, he wasn´t sure if it worked because he had no one who could be his test-intruder. He only had the data JARVIS had collected on the power field back then. According to that data, Tony was on the right track.  
He leant back in his chair and took a sip of his coffee.  
“nice try, Anthony. But you will never reach my level.”  
This was the first time he didn't spin around at the sound of Lokis now familiar voice. In some corner of his mind, he had expected him to show up again. He just went on staring at his computer screen, then leant forward and shoved some data around. “These things here don't make sense,” he said. Then he felt Loki leaning over his shoulder as he studied the screen with interest. “Hm, I'd say you have to change your complete point of view on this.”  
“I´ve already looked at it from every viewpoint I can think of.” Tony moaned trying to ignore Lokis hot breath at his ear.  
“Then you should change your viewpoint on your viewpoints.”  
“VERY helpful,” Tony replied, then he shrugged Lokis head off his shoulder and turned around. “What are you even doing here, you lying shit?”  
“Oh, you saw through it then?”  
“There are no attacks on Asgard. Thor told me.”  
“But it was a fine little act ,wasn't it?”  
“Oh, it was fabulous.”  
“To answer your question. I still owe you my gratitude.”  
“Again?”  
“Oh, if I remember it clearly, we did not quite get to it last time.”  
Oh. He meant THAT. That moment in which Tony didn't even know what Loki was about to try doing. When SHIELD had interrupted them.  
As if he´d been reading his mind Loki remarked: “They are not going to intrude this time are they?”  
“No, I've made a security update on my servers. My footage is not going anywhere.”  
“That is a pleasure.”  
“One thing.”  
“Yes?”  
“Why the metal band?”  
At that, Loki chuckled. “Oh, that was just a bit of mischief, I knew you would be at that festival.”  
“You wanted to mess with me.”  
“I´m known for making a mess, of everything and everyone, basically speaking.”  
“No, you are the one making intimate jokes.” Tony pointed out and had to suppress a grin. Hell, was he joking around with Loki here?  
“Care for a drink?” he asked.  
“A kind offer, but no, for that I will have to come another time. I am here for something different.”  
“Your gratitude.”  
“Precisely,” Loki answered.  
He laid a hand under Tony's chin and lifted it up. “For you, that will be something very special.”

Tony had never kissed a man before. But on the other hand, Loki wasn´t just a man. He was a god. Even if Tony still resisted to believe that Gods existed.  
“I´m actually not gay.” Tony interrupted unable to look away from Lokis smug grin.  
“You will be gay for me,” Loki said without batting an eye. Tony really didn't know an answer to this and Loki seemed to take the one time Tony Stark was silent as a perfect opportunity. He leant forward and captured him in a slow, but deep kiss. It was breathtaking, literally, because Tony didn't dare to breathe. He didn't even dare to return the kiss, not when it was so damn crazy and good at the same time. He wanted to capture this moment in which a crazy murdering sneaky Norse god had leant in to kiss him.  
“I´ll take you up on that drink,” Loki whispered against his lips, then he stopped the kiss.  
Tony blinked. Opened his eyes. His workshop was empty. But when he turned back to his screens he immediately saw that Loki had shoved his data around.


End file.
